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hard news
Mitre 10 extends longstanding Dunedin stadium partnership
Last month, Mitre 10 NZ and Dunedin Venues Management announced the extension of their 10-year naming rights partnership of the West End Stand at Forsyth Barr Stadium for a further six years.
Martin Dippie, Managing Director
of Mitre 10 MEGA Dunedin and Chair of Mitre 10 NZ, says of the extension: “Since its inception all those years ago, we
have been passionate supporters of the stadium as a concept, and it has been particularly pleasing to see it develop into the world class asset that it is today.
“Our teams work well together, and we are delighted to continue to support DVML’s ambitions to deliver a world class experience for our local communities”.
“Welcoming the announcement, DVML CEO Terry Davies, says: “We are extremely happy and proud to be associated with such a forward thinking, solutions focused local business in Mitre 10.
“The value and vitality that both organisations deliver to our community underpins our great partnership’’.
https://forsythbarrstadium.co.nz/ www.mitre10.co.nz
What’s in a name?
Seeking to disassociate itself from an old-fashioned concept, PrefabNZ is henceforth to be known as OffsiteNZ.
Chief Executive Scott Fisher says of the name change: “When people hear the word ‘prefab’ their first thoughts might be of cold, damp classrooms. That kind of association is a stumbling block to starting credible conversations about the need for the building and construction industry to embrace innovative technology, systems and processes.”
Board Chair Toni Kennerley says the name change is a strategic move and supports the organisation’s vision for the sector: “Our vision is for offsite construction in New Zealand to be mainstream, and that productivity is high, and value is created for clients and society.
“The change to OffsiteNZ supports this vision and has broader appeal to the wider construction sector.”
www.offsitenz.com
Closing the loop on garden pot recycling
EARLY THIS MONTH, Mitre 10 NZ announced the nationwide roll-out of its new Pot Recycle program, a practical “closed loop” solution that stops plastic plant and seedling pots ending up in landfill at the same time as reducing the amount of new plastic used to make more pots.
To gauge the need for such a scheme, Mitre 10 NZ alone sells more than 11 million plant and seedling pots every year, but most councils do not accept them in kerbside recycling as they’re often contaminated with dirt and reportedly harder to recycle.
Now, however, following a successful three-month pilot, Kiwis can now simply wash and return any unwanted clean plant and seedling pots and labels made of plastic ID 5 (polypropylene) to one of 84 Mitre 10 MEGA or Mitre 10 stores.
The pots are then shredded and melted into resin by recycling partners Pact Group and Recycling Group, before being remoulded into new pots by Zealandia Horticulture.
As part of the co-op’s wider Sustainability Plan, Mitre 10 NZ aims to achieve a 20% return rate (equivalent to 184 tonnes of recycling volume annually) within the first 12 months.
Grant Fraser, Mitre 10 NZ’s Chief Legal and Property Officer and the cooperative’s executive sponsor for sustainability, says: “We want to help our customers by providing solutions that
help them better deal with single-use plastic waste.
“Both Government and Kiwis want solutions and Pot Recycle provides infrastructure to help address this, ensuring these pots are properly recycled.”
Mitre 10’s supplier partner Zealandia Horticulture invested in its original injection moulding machine over 15 years ago and has been using recycled material in its pots for well over a decade.
However, the partnership with Mitre 10 NZ delivers a true product stewardship
– old plant pots recovered and used to make new ones, over and over again.
Pedro Wylaars, National General Manager for Zealandia Horticulture, says he’s excited to be involved in the new scheme: “We’re pleased to be supporting the Mitre 10 team as they bring Pot Recycle to their customers.
“We don’t have a direct-to-customer interface – Mitre 10 provides the public touchpoints that make it easy for people to recycle their old pots.
“And for every store in the co-operative to be involved in the programme is a great achievement.”
www.mitre10.co.nz/potrecycling
10 NZHJ | NOVEMBER 2021
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